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Chapter 3 · Karma-yoga · 43 verses

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Duty & actionChapter 3 · Karma-yoga
3.343.36

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 3.35

Act according to your proper duty

श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् ।

स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः ॥ ३५ ॥

śreyān sva-dharmo viguṇaḥ

para-dharmāt sv-anuṣṭhitāt

sva-dharme nidhanaṁ śreyaḥ

para-dharmo bhayāvahaḥ

Translation

It is far better to discharge one’s prescribed duties, even though faultily, than another’s duties perfectly. Destruction in the course of performing one’s own duty is better than engaging in another’s duties, for to follow another’s path is dangerous.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

Follow Your Own Duty

  1. 1Doing your own prescribed duty imperfectly—even facing death—is better than doing another’s duty perfectly. Following another’s path is dangerous.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that one should follow authorized guidance and perform one’s prescribed duties in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
  3. 3Do not imitate others’ duties. Follow the duties given for your situation, knowing that cleansing the heart is a gradual process.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 3, Karma-yoga: act according to your proper duty.

What it teaches

Theme summary

Act dutifully without attachment to fruits.

2

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Prescribed duty

One’s own duty is preferable to imitating another’s.

3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 3.35 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to duty & action?

Practice

Do one task today purely because it is right.

4

The story behind it

Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.

All stories for chapter 3 ›
5

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 2.31The duty of a kṣatriya and equanimityBG 18.47Natural duties and perfection through workBG 18.66The heart of surrender

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

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Back to step 3The key ideasNext · Step 5 of 7 · 5 minLive the teachingsBring it into your day with a practice and a question, straight from Prabhupāda's purports.